Our Fees: Probate

Alternatively, if you only require a grant to be able to deal with the sale of a property or deal with a straightforward estate, we also offer a ‘grant only’ service where we assist with all steps required up to and including obtaining the grant at which point we would provide this to you to gather in the assets yourself.

Please note our fees are subject to VAT, this tax is set by the UK government and is currently 20%.

Grant Only Service

How much does this service cost?

This service is a fixed fee of £995 plus VAT and disbursements. The current rate of VAT is 20%.

This includes the key stages of:

• Identifying the Executors of the Will or Administrators and beneficiaries of the estate (unless family tree research is required)
• Identifying the type of Probate application you will require
• Meeting you and advising about your responsibilities and duties
• Ascertaining the value of the estate by contacting the asset holders and creditors
• Advising whether Inheritance Tax is applicable
• Preparing and submitting an application to the Probate Registry
• On receipt of the grant, providing this to you for you to administer the estate yourself

This DOES NOT include:

• This fixed fee does not cover the completion of Inheritance Tax forms and arranging for payment of Inheritance Tax where the estate exceeds the thresholds. In these circumstances we find that clients require a more comprehensive ‘Estate Administration’ service due to the various deadlines and complexities that can arise.
• This fixed does also does not cover the completion of Inheritance Tax forms where an estate is not exempt from filing a full Inheritance Tax return. In these cases, we would discuss the assets involved and provide you with a fixed fee quote.
• Identifying administrators or beneficiaries if family tree research is required

Disbursements:

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. These are payable by the estate. The possible disbursements are:

• Probate fee of £300 plus £1.50 per additional copy of grant
• Land Registry copy deeds of £7
• ID checks on Executors/Administrators of £8 + VAT per Executor/Administrator. The current rate of VAT is 20%.
• Between £200-£300 for a Post in The London Gazette and local newspaper – this protects you against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
• Financial Asset Search £195 + VAT which will ensure all assets are taken into account. The current rate of VAT is 20%.
• Will Search £99 + VAT. This can be helpful in cases where a will cannot be located or where the family have concerns that a newer will may have been written

We will advise you which of the above disbursements are relevant to your case.

Estate Administration Service

How much will it cost?

Our Estate Administration costs vary depending on multiple factors including complexity and value of the estate and the exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. The cost will also depend on the hourly rate of the allocated Probate lawyer. Please note, if a qualified solicitor is dealing with your matter, they will receive support from other members of the team and will delegate work to those with lower hourly rates as appropriate. It is therefore important to contact us for a bespoke quote.

However, to give an indication of costs, we have set out some examples below. Our costs would be charged on a time spent basis and our hourly rates are:

• Partner £300 per hour
• Associate solicitor £240 per hour
• Solicitor £235 per hour
• Trainee solicitor or paralegal £180 per hour
• Support staff £130-£135 per hour

The above hourly rates are exclusive of VAT. The current rate of VAT is 20%.

Our Estate Administration service includes the key stages of:

• Identifying the Executors of the Will and beneficiaries of the estate
• Identifying the type of Probate application you will require
• Meeting you and advising about your responsibilities and duties
• Ascertaining the value of the estate by contacting the asset holders
• Considering the Inheritance Tax position
• Preparing and submitting an application to the Probate Registry
• On receipt of Probate, we will gather in all of the assets, pay any liabilities and reimburse any expenses.
• We will prepare estate accounts for approval by the Executors and carry out bankruptcy searches on all beneficiaries before distributing the estate to them

What our Estate Administration service does NOT include

• Preparing any Deeds of Variation for beneficiaries (we can assist with this but there would be an additional cost).
• The sale or transfer of any property (we can assist with this but there would be an additional cost).
• Obtaining a grant abroad. We work with third parties who could assist with this at an additional cost.
• Registration of Trusts. We work with third parties who could assist with this at an additional cost.
• Capital Gains Tax returns. We work with third parties who could assist with this at an additional cost.
• Registering estates as complex and submitting estate tax returns. We work with third parties who could assist with this at an additional cost.
• Family Tree Research. We work with third parties who could assist with this at an additional cost.
• Tracing missing beneficiaries. We work with third parties who could assist with this at an additional cost.
• Where a claim for Agricultural Relief is needed for Inheritance Tax purposes, unfortunately we would not be able to assist with the estate but we would be happy to provide you with details of a firm who could assist.

Typical Estate Costs

For a typical estate, we anticipate the costs will fall in the region of £3,000 – £7,000 plus VAT and disbursements. The current rate of VAT is 20%. We will handle the full process for you. This quote is for estates where:

• There is a valid will or the next of kin are easily ascertained without the need for family tree research
• There are no complex Trusts in the will
• The deceased was domiciled in the UK
• Inheritance Tax is not payable (and no reliefs for business or agricultural relief are needed)
• There is no more than one property
• We are not expected to regularly visit the property for insurance purposes
• There are no complex assets (e.g. business interests, digital assets such as cryptocurrency, foreign assets, agricultural assets, assets held in Trust etc)
• There are no more than 10 beneficiaries who all live in the UK including no more than 2 charity beneficiaries.
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If a dispute is not easily resolved, we would unfortunately not be able to act and you would need to seek advice from a firm with a contentious probate department
• There are no claims made against the estate

Complex Estate Costs

It is very difficult to give an accurate quote for a complex estate without having full details of the individual matter. This is because there is a wide range of factors that can increase the complexity of an estate and we would therefore need to speak with you to obtain full details and provide a bespoke quote. However, as a guide, for complex estates, we anticipate our fees will start from £8,000 plus VAT and disbursements. The current rate of VAT is 20%. This quote is suitable for estates that do not fall within the scope of a typical estate as set out above.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. These are payable by the estate. The possible disbursements are:

• • Probate fee of £300 plus £1.50 per additional copy
  • Land Registry copy deeds of £7
  • ID checks on Executors/Administrators of £8 + VAT per Executor/Administrator. The current rate of VAT is 20%.
  • Between £200-£300 for a Post in The London Gazette and local newspaper – this protects you against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
  • Financial Asset Search £195 + VAT which will ensure all assets are taken into account. The current rate of VAT is 20%.
  • Will Search £99 + VAT. This can be helpful in cases where a will cannot be located or where the family have concerns that a newer will may have been written
  • ID/Bankruptcy checks of £11+VAT per beneficiary (provided the beneficiaries all live in the UK)

We will advise you which of the above disbursements are relevant to your case.

How long will it take?

The length of the process can vary from case to case but for straightforward applications, the likely timescales for the key stages are:

• Obtaining the grant of representation – 10 to 16 weeks
• Collecting in the assets – 6 to 8 weeks
• Paying the liabilities and distributing the estate – a further 6 to 8 weeks

These timescales are based on a straightforward probate case and if there are any complicating factors, the likely timescales will be longer. Complicating factors can include:

• There’s no will
• Foreign assets
• Beneficiaries living abroad
• A property to sell
• Any disputes between executors or beneficiaries
• Inheritance Tax is payable
• Any business interests

For a grant only service, the likely timescale is between 10 and 16 weeks for a straightforward case. For estate administration service, overall, a straightforward case is likely to take between 6 and 12 months. For a more complex case, the overall timescale will depend on a number of factors but typically will take between 9 and 24 months. In the most complex cases, the timescale for fully winding up the estate may be longer but usually interim distributions would be made to beneficiaries with a modest sum retained in the estate account pending conclusion.

Contact Us

Please do not hesitate to contact the Private Client Customer Relationship Manager on 0191 232 9547 to discuss your matter further and obtain a quote.

This work may be undertaken by Alexa Wilson (Associate Solicitor), Molly Williamson (Solicitor), Emma Johnson (Trainee Solicitor) or Faye Whitfield-Sykes (Paralegal). This work is supervised by Elspeth Thomson.